Paper-dispensing cabinet



GULIELMO COTTINI AND GIROLAMO COTTINI.

PAPER DISPENSING CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED MAY l5, l9l8.

1,3 1 1 ,799. Patnted July 29, 1919.

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F Il El WITNESS: I N VEN TORI? 2 Id 9 409M 38 8e BY 1 a 7 7 M: 2 W m 4930 lo ATTORNEY.

I Fluff GULIELMO COTTINI AND GIROLAMO COTTINI.

PAPER DISPENSING CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 15. 191B.

1,31 1 ,799. Patented July 29, 1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- lnp fi ATTORNEY.

THE COLUMBIA PLANOnnAm! co., WASHINGTON, D. c.

tioned important, valuable, and advanta- UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GULIELMO COTTINI, 0F SPRINGFIELD, AND GIROLAMO COTTINI, OF LUDLOW, MAssACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORS T0 MICHAEL, T. FOLEY, or SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

PAPER-DISPENSING CABINET.

Application filed May 15, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GULrnLMo COTTlNI and GIRoLAMo Co'rrINI, bothcitizens of the United States of America, and residents, respectively,of Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of Massachusetts, andLudlow, in said county and State, have invented a new and usefulPaper-Dispensing Cabinet, of which the following is a speciflcation.

Our invention relates to boxes or cabinets for dispensing toilet-paper,paper towels, and the like, and consists essentially of a slottedreceptacle designed to hold a plurality of sheets of paper and permitsuch sheets to be withdrawn one at a time, and of means whereby suchsheets are enabled to be so withdrawn, such means comprising a movablemember adapted to be actuated into a position to expose a part of thesheet to be withdrawn, so that such exposed part can be grasped with thehand, together with such auxiliary and subsidiary parts and members asmay be necessary or desirable to make this device complete, all ashereinafter set forth.

It is necessary to use in our cabinet paper which is folded in a certainmanner, as will presently appear.

Heretofore much difficulty has been expe rienced with paper-dispensingcabinets, due to the fact that the contents of such a cabinet, that isto say, the paper therein, was ac eessible from the outside and suchpaper or the package of the same was frequently overturned or otherwisedisplaced, by accident .or design, with the result that the properfunctioning of such cabinets was seriously interfered with and eveninterrupted altogether. And the primary object of our invention is toprovide a cabinet of this kind which protects the contents from outsidemanipulation or interference, thus obviating the aforesaid objectionsand difficulties and insuring a proper delivery or feed at all times. I

A further object is to produce a cabinet, which, besides possessing theabove-mengeous feature or element of safety, is capable of dispensingindividual sheets of paper from a stack or pile, and of doing so untilthe'last sheet is taken.

Still another object is to produce a cabinet ;-which is comparativelyinexpensive, is sim- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 29, 1919. Serial No. 234,826.

outof order,and 'is withal highly efficient,

practicable, and serviceable.

Other objects and advantages will appear a in the course of thefollowing description.

A preferred form or embodiment of the invention, whereby we attain theobjects and secure the advantages of the same, is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, and we will proceed to describe said inventionwith reference to said drawings, although it is to be understood thatthe form, construction, arrangement, etc., of the parts in variousaspects are not material and may be modified without departure from thespirit of the invention.

In the drawings, in which like numerals designate like parts throughoutthe several views, Figure 1 is a front elevation of a paper-dispensingcabinet which embodies a practical form of our invention as aforesaid;Fig. 2, a horizontal section through said cabinet, the door being shownopen, while in the other views where said door appears it is shownclosed, or in closed position; Fig. 3, a transverse, vertical sectionthrough the cabinet, taken on lines 33, looking in the direction of theassociated arrow, in Fig. 2; Fig. 4E, an enlarged detail of the lowerportion. which includes practically all of the working parts andmembers, of said cabinet, in transverse section, showing severalproperly folded sheets of paper in place ready to be dispensed; Fig. 5.a similar view to Fig. 4, but showing the dispensing slide pushed backand the bottom sheet of paper in readi ness for withdrawal, this and thepreceding vlew being operative views; Fig. 6, a sectional View of amodification of the cabinet, the section being taken just inside of theend which is nearest the beholder; Fig. 7, a sectional view of stillanother modification, this section being taken close to theend which isthe more remote from the beholder; Fig. 8, a top plan of said slide, aportion being broken away at the right-hand end, and, Fig. 9, anenlarged isometric view of the fingercontrolling lug.

Our receptacle, box, or cabinet proper preferably consists of end pieces1-1 the upper the front edges'of saidend'pieces, and a' and" membershereinafter described.

13 and 12, respectively. The slide 14: at all the upper front corners ofwhich are obtuse-angles; an oblique back side 2 which forms aright-angle with the bottom plane of said end pieces; a top 4 which isflush with the upper edges of said end pieces, all three beinghorizontal; a wide bottom or floor plate 5 which is flush with thebottom edges of said end pieces, and in the present case. extends fromthe bottom rear corners of said end pieces forward about one-third ofthe distance between said back side and narrow bottom or floor plate6which is on a plane that is higher than but parallel with the plane ofsaid first-named plate, aslot or-opening of considerable-width thusbeing leftibetween adjacent edges of said plates; and a base piece 7across the front,

' handle 20 depends from the forward piece 15.

to which a door'8 is hinged at 9-4), said base piece being flush" withthe front edges of said end pieces, .andsaid door, when closed,extendingup 'tothe front edge of said top. The several fixed parts andmembers just described are fastened together in any suitable and usualmanner, so, too, with reference to other rigidly connected parts heforegoing description relates to the box and parts thereof as theyappear in the first five views, and the cabinet as a whole in theseviews will 'be described before considering the modificationsillustrated in Figs. 6 and 7.

This box is designed to be fastened against a wall or other verticalsupport by means of screws passing through the back side 2, and thepeculiar shape given the same is to throw up the bottom thereof or giveit an upward and forward pitch so as to facili-' tate the withdrawal ofthe paper from the box through said bottom, and at the same time providefor the proper accommodation of the paper within the box.

Locking means are provided for the door 8, such means here consisting ofa staple 10 and a padlock 11. When the padlock 11 is removed from thestaple 10, the door 8, if closed, can be turned downwardly and forwardlyinto the open position shown in Fig. 2. The paper isinserted in the .box

through the doorway when the door is open,

and then the latter is closed and locked.

Extending forwardly from the back side 2, over the bottom plate 5 andspaced therefrom, is a paper support 12, and extending rearwardly fromthe base piece 7, over the bottom plate -6 and spaced therefrom, is apaper support 13. These supports are both fixed members. v e

A dispensing slide 14: is arranged on the plates 5 and 6, having frontand rear por-- tions that extend under the paper supports times, thatis, regardless of its position, covers orcloses the slot or spacebetween adacent edges of the lates 5 and 6 to an exslide 14 two rivets17- are passed through fingers through such opening and so reach thepaper above, as will presently more clearlyappean The part ofthe slide14' that rests and reciprocates on the plate 6, and which is indicatedby the numeral 15, is spaced from the part of said slide that restsandreciprocates on the plate 5,. by. means of end uprights 16-16. Thespace between the uprights 16 is long enough to permit a sheet of paperto be drawn through the same, but said space is not of sufficient widthfor the passage" of the fingers. For the purpose of steadying andguiding the x the same numberof ope11ings18 in'said slide and twotransverse or forwardly and rearwardly extending slots 19 in the plate5; A

of the slide 14:, through a lateral or for wardly and rearwardlyextending slot 21in the transverse center of the plate 6. The underportion-of the base piece 7 maybe cut away adjacent to the handle 20, asshown c 22, and the middle portion 23 of the front on Each spring 25 hasits front end attached to a the back side'of the base piece 7, adjacentto one end of said base piece, and its rear end attached to a lug orhook 26 that extends downwardly from the adjacent end of the that end.Upon grasping the handle 20 the slide 14 can be forced backwardly,against the resiliency of the springs 25, as far as the rear ends of theslots 21 and 19 will permit,

and upon releasing said handle said springs actuate said slide forwardagain into initril position, said handle and the rivets 17 sliding intheir respective slots, and said slide ontheplates'5 and 6 and beneaththe paper supports 12 and 13.

Having its forward end pivoted at 27 to the underside of' the slide part15, behind the handle 20, is a finger 28. At the pivoted endof thefinger 28 is a short, angularly-ar ranged lug 29. Both the finger 28 andthe 120 lug 29 extend through and below the slot 21. An angular lug 80,clearly'shown in Fig. 9, is secured to the underside of the plate6 andextends tothe left into engaging relation with the finger 28 and its lug29. When '12 the slide 14 is in the forward, normal position, the lug 30bears beneath the finger '28 i i and retains it in elevated position,with the rear terminal of said fingeragainst the unslide part 15, infront of the upright16, at 1 der edge of the rear end of the .Slot 21and well above and clear of the bottom of the slot or opening, indicatedby the numeral 40, between the plates 5 and 6 and between the uprights16, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. And,

when the slide is moved rearwardly, the lug 30 is moved forward alongthe finger 2S, encounters the lug 29, and tilts said finger downwardlypast and below the horizontal plane of the bottom of the aforesaid slotor opening, as shown in Fig. 5.

The paper used in our cabinet is folded so as to form of each sheet along lap and a short lap. Such paper so folded must be of a size to fitwithin the box and pass through the approximately vertical slot 40, inthe slide 14. Each sheet is placed on the one below with the short lapunderneath, and the proportion of the long and short laps are such thatonly the long laps rest on the support 13 above the part 15 and thefloor plate 6, when the sheets are placed in the box with the foldededge portions on the support 12 above the lower, major portion of theslide 14 and the floor plate 5, whichis the manner in which said sheetsare placed in said box, while the short laps are in position to enabletheir forward portions to drop down onto the slide 14 behind theapproximately vertical slot 40 therein. Thus the lap, of the foldedsheet that rests directly on the supports 12 and 13, or that portion of.said lap which is forward of the front edge of said support 12, dropsdown and wholly or partially rests on the slide 14 behind the slottherein. This is fully illustrated in Fig. 4. In each of Figs. 4 and 5 astack comprising a plurality of folded sheets is represented at 31,andthe long and short laps of the bottom sheets are further designated bythe numerals 32 and 33 respectively.

Two, approximately vertical, end guides 34 are provided for the stack ofpaper 31, to insure the proper placing of the paper in the box and theretention of said paper in proper position, so that the same can bedrawn through the delivery slot in the slide 14. Each guide 34 isfastened at the upper end to the top 4. The slide 14 reciprocates freelyunder the bottom ends of the guide 34. The guides 34 are located, by thefastening means at the top and outwardly turned feet 35-35 at thebottom, far enough from the end pieces 1 to confine the paper wellwithin the vertical planes of the inner edges of the uprights 16.

Guides 3636 and 37-37 are provided on the base piece 7 and the door 8,respectively, to prevent the paper from working forward, as the pilediminishes, and getting caught on the hinges 9 or in the crack betweensaid base piece'and door. The guides 36 are upstanding members securedonthe inside of the base piece 7, and the guides-37 are similar members,when the door 8 is closed, secured to -the inside of said door. Theguides 36 and 37 in the two pairs are in offset relationship to eachother, and the former project above the top of the base 8, consequentlythe paper cannot be caught between adjacent ends of said guides.

The parts of the paper support 12 that are over the slots 19 in whichthe rivets 17 travel are raised to enable the heads of said rivets toclear such parts, as represented at 38.

Ordinarily no weight or follower of any kind is required for the paperstack 31, but a weight or follower, such for example as I have shown at39 in Figs. 4 and 5, may be provided if required or desired. Thefollower 39 is placed on top of the pile 31 and serves to press thesheets together and assist at. all times in keeping them in a compactcondition and the bottom of said pile and even the last remaining sheetthereof in close contact with the supports 12 and 13.

In operation, assuming that the pile of paper 31 is in place on thesupports 12 and 13, first the slide 14 is forced rearwardly, by means ofthe handle 20, with the result that the short lap 33 of the bottom sheetin said pile, which was resting on said slide as shown in Fig. 4, iscaused to project from the slot 40, and the finger 28 is caused to pressthe middle portion of the protruding part of said lap downwardly, asshown in Fig. 5; next said protruding and downwardly-pressed part orportion of said lap is seized and said bottom sheet drawn out of the boxthrough said slot; and, finally, said slide is released to the springsand by the latter returned to initial position. The slide 14 ismanipulated witlrone hand and the paper pulled from the box with theother hand. \Vhen the slide 14 is pushed back it does not disturb thepaper, since the latter is resting on the supports 12 and 13 and saidslide operates beneath said supports, but the forward edge portion ofthe lap 33, which portion was lying on said slide directly behind theslot 40, is left protruding from said slot in readiness to be grasped.Upon grasping the exposed edge portion of the bottom sheet and drawingsuch portion forward, the remainder of said sheet follows easily. beingfirst drawn without difficulty from between the support 12 and the pileat the rear. and then over the back edge of the part 15 and from betweenthe support 13 and said pile at the front. No other sheet is disturbed(hiring the operation or when the slide 14 is released to its springsand by them actuated forward, and the last sheet can be as readilydispensed in the manner just explained as the first. After thewithdrawal of the sheet and upon the release of the slide the lattermoves forward into place, and the short lap of what is now the bottomsheet drops onto said slide, behind the delivery slot 40, in readinessfor the dispensing of said lastnamed sheet, said lap having beenpreviously held up against the pile first by the long lap 32 and then bythe part 15.

The device is operative and practicable without the depressor members,which infinger, which has meanwhile been swinging downwardly at the rearend, is thrust down positively, and the now protruding edge,

portion of the lap 83 is engaged by said rear end of said finger andturned downwardly. During the act'of withdrawing the sheet the same isdrawn from the delivery slot 40 at a pitch which insures clearance ofthe finger 28. Upon the forward return of the slide 14 the finger 28 israised into inoperative position, in the manner previously ex plained.

It will be'observed, as previously stated, that the opening betweenadjacent edges of the bottom plates 5 and 6 is always covered by theslide, no matter what the position of said slide may be, and that theonly access to the interior of the box or paper receptacle, through thebottom or from below, is by way of the approximately vertical andcomparatively narrow slot 40. Without the use of some special implementor instrument, therefore, the pile 31 of paper cannot be overthrown,disarranged, or otherwise interfered with from beneath.

Passing now to Figs. 6 and 7,, it will be cabinet is so disposed thatthe paper is sup- I plied at the top and dispensed through the frontside, and, in the second of these views,

the cabinet is so disposed that the paper is supplied at the front anddispensed through the top. With the exception of a lip 48 on the slidepart 15 and the follower, the con struction of eitherthe Fig. 6 or theFig. 7 cabinet is precisely the same as that of the first. In the Fig. 6cabinet a follower 41, somewhat similar to the follower 39,- isprovided, with a pair of springs 42 to force said follower toward thedispensing front of the cabinet. In the Fig. 7 cabinet a follower 43,generally similar to the others, is forced upwardly against the paper bya pair of weights 44. i

The springs 42 have their rear ends attached to the top 4, which hashere become the back side of the box, and the front ends of said springsare attached to the follower 41. Similar springs might be used in placeof the weights in the Fig. 7 cabinet, also with the follower 39 in anycase when the force of gravity proved to be insufficient,

and it would be feasible to employ a weight or weights with either saidfollower 39.017.

the follower 41.

Projecting inwardly from each end- 1, of V the box, Fig. 7, are twostuds 45, one in front of the other, mounted on eachstud are two idlers46, and a cord 47 passes over each of said idlers', such cord having.one end fastened to the adjacent end of the follower 43, and having oneof the weights 44 attached to the other end. The idlers 46 are locatedas high as possible at each end of the, box, and at asuflicient'elevation so that the forward part of the follower 43 can bedrawn up into contact with'thesupport 18and the lip 48 above.

The lip 48is provided, each of the two modifications, to guide the shortlap of-the. sheet being dispensed to the adjacent slot I 40, when theslide 14 is actuated against the resiliency of its springs.

At 49 each end of the'floor plate ,6 is bent downwardly and outwardly 4to form a pocket for one of the springs 25.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. In a paper-dispensing cabinet, a receptacle having an opening in oneof its superfices, and. a reciprocable member covering such opening atall times, said member having therein a delivery. slot for; the passage1 of one end of a paper sheet, when saidmemher is actuated out oflnitial position, and

through which slot such sheet is drawn by'.

hand

tacle having an opening in one of its superi001 In a paper-dispensingcabinet, a recep- V fices, a reciprocable member covering such openingat all times, and having therein a delivery slot for the passage of oneend of a paper sheet, when said member is actuated out of initialposition, and means to support the paper, with the exception. of a loosepart of the sheet in position for immediate delivery] out of contactwith said movable member, such loose part being the part that enterssaid slot.

3. In a paper-dispensing cabinet, a receptacle having an opening in oneof its superfices, a movable member covering such opening at alltimes,and having therein a delivi cry slot through which apart of a sheet Ofpaper in said receptacle protrudes, when said movable member is actuatedin one direction, and means to engage such protruding part and'turn itaway from adjacent parts of the cabinet. V a

4. In a paper-dispensing cabinet, a receptacle having an opening in oneofits superfices, and provided-with papersuppOrtingT bears'directly onsaid supporting means, and

when actuated in one direction to project said loose part through theslot in said member, and to support the loose part of the next sheet,after the first sheethas been withdrawn,-.until said member is actuatedin the a other direction. a

5. The combination, in a paper-dispensing cabinet, with a receptaclehaving front and rear floor members spaced apart and in steppedrelationship, and paper supports extending over said members, of a,sliding dispensing member comprising upper and lower parts which arereceived on said floor members under said supports, and having adelivery slot between adjacent edges of said upper and lower parts.

6. The combination, in a paper-dispensing cabinet, with a receptaclehaving front and rear floor members spaced apart and in stepped.relationship, and paper supports extending over said members, of asliding dispensing member comprising upper and lower parts which arereceived on said floor members under said supports, and having adelivery slot between adjacent edges ofsaid upper and lower parts, andresilient means normally to retain said dispensing member at the forwardend of its travel.

7 The combination, in a paper-dispensing cabinet, with a receptaclehaving front and rear floor members spaced apart and in steppedrelationship, said front member being slotted, and paper supportsextending over said members, of a sliding dispensing member comprisingupper and lower parts which are received on said floor members undersaid supports, and having a delivery slot between adjacent edges of saidupper and lower parts, and a handle extending down from said upper partof said dispensing member, through the slot in said front floor member.

8. The combination, in a paper-dispensing cabinet, with a receptaclehaving front and rear floor members spaced apart and in steppedrelationship, and paper supports extending over said members, of asliding dispensing member comprising upper and lower parts which arereceived on said floor members under said supports, and having adelivery slot between adjacent edges of said upper and lower parts, andmeans, between said lower part of said dispensing member and said rearfloor member, to hold said dispensing member to its course.

9. The combination, in a paper-dispensing cabinet, with a receptaclehaving front and rear floor members spaced apart and in steppedrelationship, and paper supports extending over said members, of asliding dispensing member comprising upper and lower parts which arereceived on said floor members under said supports, and having adelivery slot between adjacent edges of said upper and lower parts, andmeans to depress the portion of a sheet of paper which protrudes fromsaid slot, when said dispensing ing cabinet, with a receptacle havingfront and rear floor members spaced apart and in stepped relationship,and paper supports extending over said members, of a sliding dispensingmember comprising upper and lower parts which are received on said floormembers under said supports, and having a delivery slot between adjacentedges of said upper and lower parts, a finger pivotally attached to saidupper part of said dispensing member in position to operate in front ofsaid slot, said front floor member being slotted to accommodate saidfinger, and means to operate said finger.

11. The combination, in a paper-dispensing cabinet, with a receptaclehaving front and rear floor members spaced apart and in steppedrelationship, paper supports extending over said members, and a lugattached to the underside of said front floor member, of a slidingdispensing member comprising up per and lower parts which are receivedon said floor members under said supports, and having a delivery slotbetween adjacent edges of said upper and lower parts, and afingerprovided with a lug and pivotally attached to the upper part ofsaid dispensing member in position to operate in front of said slot,said front floor member bein slotted to accommodate said finger, andsaid first-named lug being in the path of said finger and its 111 12.The combmation, in a paper-dispensing cabinet, with a receptacle havingfront and rear floor members spaced apart and in stepped relationship,and paper supports extending over said members, of a sliding dispensingmember comprising upper and lower parts which are received on said floormembers, under said su ports, and having a delivery slot between atjacent edges of said upper and lower parts, and springs arranged betweenthe front of said receptacle, near the ends, and adjacent parts of saiddispensing member, normally to retain the latter in its forwardposition.

13. In a paper -dispensing cabinet, a receptacle having front and rearfloor members spaced apart and in stepped relationship, paper supportsextending over said members, a sllding dispensing member comprisingupper and lower parts which are received on said floor members undersaid supports, and having a delivery slot between adjacent edges of saidupper and lower parts, and end guides arranged in said receptacle tokeep the paper between the vertical planes of the ends of said slot.

14. In a paper-dispensing cabinet, a receptacle having front and rearfloor mem bers spaced apart and in stepped relationship, paper supportsextending over said members, a door in the front of said receptacle, asliding dispensing member comprising upper and lower parts which arereceived on said floor members under said supports, and having a delvery slot between ad]acent edges of said upper and lower parts, and

guides on the front of said receptacle, in-

cluding said door, to prevent the paper from coming into contact withthe closed front of the receptacle.

' 15-. In a paper-dispensing cabinet, supporting means for the frontandrear portions of sheets of paper folded to form long and short laps,-and arranged with the short laps underneath, and a slotted slidingmemrelationship, for the front and rear portions of-sheets of paperfolded to form long Copies of this patent may be obtained for five centseach,- by addressing the"( ommissioner of Patents,

and short laps, and arranged with the short laps underneath, and asliding slotted offset and upward inclination, and comprises front andrear paper-supporting members which are spaced apart, and aslottedsliding member adapted, when actuated in one direction, .toexpose through the slot therein a portion of the sheet of paper which isin direct contact with said paper-supporting members,

said sliding member spanning'the gap between said first-named members.

' -GULIELMO COT-TINI.

GIROLAMO COTTINI. Witnesses:

- A. C. FAIRBANKS,

- F. A. CUTTER.

Washington, D. '0. v g

